No aspersions on asparagus

Woodford County farm filling the veggie void

Shelley and Steve Johnson have always had asparagus in their Woodford County garden, but six or so years ago Shelley decided to up the ante. “Nobody was growing asparagus around here,” she says.

Good enough reason to put in 2 to 3 acres of asparagus crowns, including a patch of purple spears. The initial plan was to sell it from a roadside stand on Old Frankfort Pike, but that quickly

became unworkable. Now, all the restaurant-quality spears–200 pounds a week–go to chef Ouita Michel at Holly Hill Inn, only minutes from the Johnsons’ house.

Shelley, shown with pet dog Izze, says that she can make “nice spending money” from her eight weeks of harvest, but she’s always relieved when the season is over. “My husband barely gets dinner (during harvest) and when he does get it, it’s asparagus,” she says.

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